It means 'Flowery Orange Pekoe,' which is an Orange Pekoe grade tea with some tips and buds.

You can find information on the different ways tea is graded at a variety of places...just Google "Tea Grading" and you'll find clarification on the whole alphabet soup commonly used for Ceylon and Indian teas as well as information for other parts of the world.

Mary R wrote:It means 'Flowery Orange Pekoe,' which is an Orange Pekoe grade tea with some tips and buds.

You can find information on the different ways tea is graded at a variety of places...just Google "Tea Grading" and you'll find clarification on the whole alphabet soup commonly used for Ceylon and Indian teas as well as information for other parts of the world.

Basically it says nothing about the quality of the tea, if I'm reading the tea grading sites correctly. So, how does one measure the quality if there is no quality grade?

It's primarily a grading of how whole the leaf is (for black tea only), with the top grade being buds and the lowest being chopped up bits of leaf (what you get in teabags). It does indicate quality, but only within the farm that produces the tea. It doesn't tell you anything about the tea when compared to teas from other areas or farms, there's really no grading system for that. Determining what teas are better than others simply requires experience.

Also, since FOP is a term from South Asia, it has no meaning at all in China, where it's just a fanciful designation suggesting that the tea includes some of the desirable growth tips, that's the "flowery." In short, it tells you no more about the tea than a vague "best quality" tells you.

Salsero wrote:Also, since FOP is a term from South Asia, it has no meaning at all in China, where it's just a fanciful designation suggesting that the tea includes some of the desirable growth tips, that's the "flowery." In short, it tells you no more about the tea than a vague "best quality" tells you.

Ah, yes. Ok, so Chinese tea doesn't follow the rules, so to speak. Does that mean it's mostly trial and error to choose a Chinese blend?

Salsero wrote:Also, since FOP is a term from South Asia, it has no meaning at all in China, where it's just a fanciful designation suggesting that the tea includes some of the desirable growth tips, that's the "flowery." In short, it tells you no more about the tea than a vague "best quality" tells you.

Ah, yes. Ok, so Chinese tea doesn't follow the rules, so to speak. Does that mean it's mostly trial and error to choose a Chinese blend?

Actually, FOP doesn't really mean much as a 'grading' designation anywhere; it's just a 'marketing' ploy. Tea is kind of a 'buyer beware' kind of thing, regardless. It comes down to experience, both on a personal level and as relates to a given supplier.

It's my opinion (for what it's worth!!) that the Chinese are more 'real' about their tea. The Japanese take 'tea fetish' to an extreme; you need look no further than their elaborate tea ceremony to see what I mean. The Chinese, while very serious about tea, have a longer history with it and treat it as more of an 'everyday' thing. All the Chinese GungFu tea ceremonies I've attended (just social gatherings, really) are informal affairs without the elaborate ceremonial etiquette one finds in Japan. The Chinese use tea to wash and pre-heat the cups and utensils!! Perish the though in Japan (I think it's a capital offense!).

To get back on topic, I think you have to let experience be your guide. Find something you like (trial and error, really) and stick with it, trying other teas from that supplier and branching out from there. You can't get TOO far off track, particularly if you stay away from tea bags. Don't be too influenced by 'grading' claims. Even knowing what FOP means doesn't guarantee that the tea you receive will fit that definition.

cha no yu was develped as a form of spiritual expression. If you don't understand its roots in zen and tao, you won't understand the tea ceremony, and then I imagine it does look silly. Much like communion would look silly to an outsider.

That being said, there is an entire world of tea in Japan outside of the tea ceremony, a world of some really, really good tea. And with things like matcha flavored pocky, they can take tea just as lightly.

"We're in heaven" on the childhood of "love" the memories of Deng idleWhen the film's narration in the voice of Jiang Wenli the end, my eyes have been wet, lights gradually brighter, I was curled up in the theater chair a long time and refuse to leave ... can say that this is a motive of the film, in which each a picture is full of a deep emotional Jiang Wenli

There is informal Japanese tea too. In Japan tea is both an everyday drink and a special ceremony. Go to any restaurant, tea house or vending machine in Japan and you can get a large cup to have while doing informal things.